NEMA to map disaster-prone communities

The National Emergency Management Agency has announced a plan to map communities in Nigeria that are vulnerable to disasters caused by adverse weather conditions.

The agency said on Thursday that the move was part of NEMA’s disaster management and climate risk prevention programme, adding that the mapping would facilitate the mitigation of the impact of disaster across the country.

The agency’s Director-General, Mustapha Maihaja, who disclosed this in Abuja at a stakeholders’ consultative workshop on climate risk prevention/mitigation preparedness and response for 2018, also stated that it was important for agencies of government to collectively prepare and strategise to reduce climate-induced disasters in Nigeria.

To effectively ensure disaster risks mitigation, Maihaja stated that NEMA was collaborating with relevant stakeholders and agencies to put together in a simplified manner, the disaster implications of the Annual Flood Outlook and the Seasonal Rainfall Prediction.

The AFO is an annual publication of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, which provides information on the country’s river basins and dams in order to stimulate early action against hydrological risks in the country.

The SRP, on the other hand, is an annual publication of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency and it provides weather information that gives a better understanding of Nigeria’s weather outlook.

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